Legal abortion in England and Wales 1968-78.

In the 11 years since the Abortion Act 1967 came into effect 1 325 146 legal abortions have been performed in England and Wales.This report gives various statistics on abortions performed in England and Wales since the 1967 Act. Figures on abortionsFor each of the first six years the number of abortions increased up to 167 149 in 1973, since when the annual total has fallen slightly.Abortions performed on women resident in England and Wales climbed to a peak of 110 568 in 1973, since when the yearly figure has remained at about the same level, except for slight falls in 1976 and 1977.Abortions performed on women from abroad rose to 56 581 in 1973, since when they have fallen to almost half (table I).TABLE i-Ntumbers of legal abortions performed in England and Wales 1968-78 in residents and non-residents No performed on No performed on